To answer the question, when can an invention be considered to have significance, we made a selection of 10 artefacts or phenomena that by their essential nature can be considered to be the inventions that are the legacy of the world.

Possibly, some of those listed may seem very basic to you, but if you think about it, they are still the cornerstone of many other inventions that sustain life as we know it today.

In the beginning of the first stage of our Think Camp programme, we invite enrolled rookies to forget everything they think they know, because that's how they can approach the world in a more creative way. So we invite you to look at the list with fresh eyes, as if you are hearing about them for the first time, and then ask yourself how you could perfect them, so you will be thinking in the same way as those inventors who innovated on those natural phenomena, found substances or invented artefacts. coolinventions 

The Wheel

It is considered one of the wonders of engineering and one of the most influential inventions that sustained the flourishing of civilisation. The oldest known wheel is from Mesopotamia, around 3500 BC and is believed to have been used to move heavy loads more quickly and conveniently.

Fire

Although it is a natural phenomenon, its discovery and use marked a revolution in human history. This remarkable discovery is said to have been made by homo erectus during the Early Stone Age and is thought to have been used for lighting and heating, as cooking was not the first thing they did with it.

Nails

The invention of nails dates back several thousand years and was only possible after the development of the mastery of metal, they were used to make construction more sophisticated, around 3400 BC in Egypt where bronze nails were found.

The gear

The beginning of this invention was Archimedes' cogwheel, designed in the 2nd century BC, and it was not until the 16th century that Leonardo da Vinci took this as the basis for creating several cogwheels that together formed the gear, a mechanism for generating the movements of large and complex tools, which would later be called machines.

Electricity and the incandescent light bulb

Although electricity was a phenomenon that had always been present, it was not until 1831 that the British scientist Michael Faraday discovered the basic principles of electricity generation. The challenge was to be able to generate the natural phenomenon at will and to be able to control it.

The next step was taken by Edison and Swan when they patented the first light bulb in 1879 and 1880, a device that managed to keep a certain area illuminated, or at least that was the intention.

The Steam Engine

Thomas Savery patented the first practical steam engine in 1698. The basic principle of this engine laid the foundation for innovations such as internal combustion engines and jet turbines, which led to the emergence of automobiles and aeroplanes during the 20th century.

The Printing Press

Developed around 1440 in Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg's machine improved on the presses that preceded it and made it possible to print documents faster and more accurately.

The Telegraph

Developed around 1830 and 1840 by Samuel Morse and other inventors, this invention revolutionised long-distance communication and laid the main foundations for modern conveniences such as telephones and, some scholars argue, even the coding for the Internet.

Television

Its invention was the work of several creators, including Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Taylor, who worked on its development without knowing that others were doing the same. In 1884, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow created and patented the first television set, which he called an electromechanical television system. This invention was presented as the option of bringing education to distant places simultaneously.

The Computer

Although there is no single inventor of the modern computer, the principle was proposed by Alan Turing in his seminal paper in 1936, which is intended to make thousands of logical deduction options immediately.

And so far the count of some inventions that can be considered legacies for the world due to their transcendence, since hundreds of other inventions that are still with us today were born from them.

If you are interested in learning how to look differently and creatively at the artefacts and technology around you, check out the programmes where you can develop these skills. This is the beginning for you to develop your own inventions and leave a legacy for the future.